US White House Digital Champion Report

2 August 2013 · by Rebecca

Wednesday I had the honor of accepting an award at The White House, as a ‘Champion of Change’ for Tech Inclusion alongside 10 other amazing individuals, who have worked hard to equalize technology education for youth and minorities.

The award serves as a marker for how far CoderDojo has grown in the US, and how proud I am to have co-founded CoderDojo NYC. To date we’ve mentored over 500 youth, of all backgrounds, from all over the diverse NYC boroughs, and continue to push our 50:50 gender ratio and bring role models from all over the tech sector to mentor.

Its wonderful to also see the the growth of the CoderDojo Girls initiative, and how we can continue to spark the interest in STEM in girls and bring them into our CoderDojo communities.

CoderDojo NYC Video

I was a part of the first panel asking us about our work for STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) how it has shaped us, and what we see for the future of the United States, changing the stereotypes that keep women and minorities from succeeding, and what else can be done to help both in-school and out of school efforts like CoderDojo, ScriptEd, Black Girls Code and other like-minded organizations.

White House Livestream

As a first generation American of Hispanic heritage, I also had to opportunity to interview with various Latino news outlets such as NBC Latino, and hope that this will help connect CoderDojo more with Latin America.

Valerie Jarrett who keynoted the event is Senior Advisor to Senior Advisor to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls. She wrote a powerful blog post expressing the future of the STEM sector in America.